


pawprints

by shippingtrashboat



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Multi, Off-screen death, Supernatural Elements, Wendigo, Werewolf
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-27
Updated: 2015-11-09
Packaged: 2018-04-23 13:17:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4878343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shippingtrashboat/pseuds/shippingtrashboat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jessica wants to get over her childhood fear of the woods that surround her town. When she follows Emily's advice of "facing her fears head on," she stumbles into Sam.....and something much, much worse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. bumps in the night part 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a very self-indulgent werewolf au with a buff Sam, I am so sorry.

Ever since she was a little girl, Jessica had always been told not to venture into the woods surrounding the town. _There are monsters within_ , her mother would say in a theatrical tone as she stared gravely down at her. Her father would always swoop down and lift her squealing form into the air as her mother continued with _and their favorite meal is little girls with blonde pigtails!_

Jessica never believed those silly tales her and everyone else's parents whispered into their children's ears to make sure they followed curfew. (She would roll her eyes constantly at twelve when her father would remind her to come home before the sun set, _or the wolves will get you!!!!_ ). Kids would make a game of it, a test to see how far one of them could walk into the forest and how long they would stay before they turned tail and dashed back to their friends (some in tears because they saw a large shadow out of the corner of their eye. _It was a deer you scaredy-cat!_ most would hiss out while giggling).

No one believed the wild tales people spread around the town, that is until the fire at Blackwood Pines Lodge that claimed the lives of Bob and Melinda Washington.

It was late February and the Washingtons were holding a private party in celebration for the lodge they had just built, atop their recently purchased mountain no less, when the fire broke out. The Fire Marshall had officially filed it as an electrical fire, caused by circuits overloading and crossed wires (Jessica didn’t understand what they were saying at the time, she just knew that the soft spoken Beth, her wild older sister, Hannah, and their too-serious-for-his-age-brother Josh would never play with her and the rest of their friends on the playground. They were quickly whisked away to the hospital for the burns they received and a multitude police interviews before being shipped to live with relatives).

(For sometime after the fire the police investigated a man that had protested the family's purchase of the mountain. The man did not live in town and was pushed out of his only home when the family started the construction of Blackwood Pines Lodge. Many believed he had tampered with the wiring in the building yet no one could find evidence, though he was kept under constant surveillance for the next six months. He was nearly run out of town due to everyone's paranoia).

It wasn't the actual tragedy that had Jessica and the rest of the town's populace nervous with their proximity to the woods. After the fire, during the dead of the night no less, strange noises echoed throughout the trees and among the streets of the town. Most often the noises sounded very distant, like a voice trying to shout over the ocean's currents; other nights, the noises were closer to the tree line, almost in the fields that separated the forest and the town. On these nights the distant voice became an ear-splitting shriek that vibrated in one's bones.

 _And, god, oh god, Jessica dreaded these nights so much she could never sleep through them, too afraid to close her eyes_.

After these particularly terrifying nights, the police and rangers would scout amongst the brush a few hours under the pretense of forest maintenance, but everyone knew that they were looking for the body that had made the blood-curdling screams.

Once, when Jessica was sixteen, and the searches had become customary three times a week, they found a mangled deer carcass. The entire town breathed a collective sigh of relief. The noises that plagued them for the last four years had only been poor animals falling prey to the predators--wolves and bears were not uncommon around here…yet, and Jessica forced herself to push this thought to the back of her mind whenever Emily brought it up, wolves and bears had never been sighted that close to town. Rarely within fifty miles of it even….

But facts such as these were thrown to the side in favor for feeling safe again. Signs and barbed wire fences were placed along the tree line to warn all of the dangers within, and reminded the brave few to take proper precautions before venturing into the woods. The few who went out rarely returned unscathed--if they returned at all--it was easy to get lost.

So life in the town slowly became what it once was before the fire took a beloved family, and the man who everyone suspected to be a murderer disappeared into the forest once again (the abuse he went through, of course, was swept under the rug and forgotten). Even with the terrible screams of dying animals echoing throughout the forest every few weeks, the townspeople were no longer afraid.

By eighteen, Jessica left the town for school and told herself that she was no longer afraid of the shadows cast by the trees. _A big fat lie_ her mind screamed at her on the drive to college, ( _liar, liar pants on fire, liarliarliar LIAR!!!!!!_ ). She and Emily had decided on the same school and were roommates, which was trying at times when Emily wanted to study and do actual work and all Jessica wanted to do was party. Emily forced her into study groups because "there was no way in any of the nine rings of hell I am letting you fail out this damn school bitch!" (This statement, yelled at her more times Jessica could remember, was full of Emily's usual kind-of-there-but-not-really-affection, slur and all).

 Jessica also wanted to date everyone and Emily was close to murdering her for it, often saying something along the lines of "your libido will probably lead you to a murderer if you're not careful. If it doesn't and you keep distracting me from this paper _I WILL BE THE ONE MURDERING YOU _." But through their combined efforts and Emily's constant death threats, Jessica made it through her first year of college with a B average, which, hey, awesome!__

They drove home together without a squabble between them for once, both exhausted from end of the year exams and the hangover they got the night before while they celebrated. The ride was quiet, both comfortable with the silence. Jessica attempted to change the radio station a few times but each attempt was met with Emily hissing and swiping at her. "Ruuuuude," the blonde drawled out, pouting at her reflection in the window and sending as many bad thoughts to Emily as she could.

The concrete buildings slowly transformed into brick and wooden houses, the distance between each homestead becoming further and further apart from one another as they drove on. The well-kept city highway turned into a beaten concrete path, barely able to fit two cars going in the opposite directions of traffic. 

And the closer they got to the town, the more unsettled Jessica became, a coil of anxiety bubbled and twisted up through her stomach and esophagus to rest at the back of her throat. It threatened to spill out in mess of word vomit and hyperventilation. A shiver crawled up her spine as she thought of the piercing screams that emitted from the darkness.

"Em," she began, staring at the side of her friend's face. The other girl ignored her for a few moments but relented when Jessica reached over and slapped her arm.

"What?" Emily bit out after she flipped Jessica off.

The blonde bit her bottom lip in a moment of hesitance before she continued, "It's been a while since we've been back home--I mean we didn’t even go back during our breaks--and, it's, well isn't it," she paused, "uhmmm--"

"Your stuttering is very unflattering, Jess." Emily pulled the car over and turned it off; she rested her elbow on the steering wheel and turned to look at her friend. "We have about an hour before we get to our middle-of-nowhere-mountain hell and I'm guessing you're having some reservations about that return," Emily lowered her large sunglasses with a raised brow, "can't understand why since the closest shopping center is, like, three towns over. Fucking ancient miner town." The last part she muttered under her breath and Jessica forced out a laugh.

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Jessica cringed at how awkward her question sounded and looked down at her lap.

Emily had turned back to look at the road ahead of them, her fingers tapped at the wheel with the usual frown on her face. Not even a minute passed before she twisted around once more and glared at Jessica, "I'm not the best with talking about…emotional or… _personal_ things," her mouth twisted as if she had just taken a bite out of a particularly bad piece of food, "but you're my girl. Or whatever. Spill. Right now, I hate waiting." Jessica shifted towards her while her hands clung to her skirt.

Okay. Yeah. Emily was one of her best friends, she could tell her about anything, she wouldn’t be made fun of, right? "That forest, is just. Yeah. Creeps me out knowing I'm going to be forced to listen to that screeching for the next three months, you know?" And that she's terrified that something will crawl out and murder her in her sleep--but she didn't want to seem like a child who couldn't sleep after she watched a horror movie when she was forbidden to do so. Not yet anyway.

"I almost forgot those god-forsaken woods existed. Ugh, look," Emily finally took off her sunglasses and halted her tapping to look Jessica in the eye. "That place creeps everyone out. People died in there, which is obviously terrible, and wild animals are lurking in there doing…gross animal things….and ugh."

Jessica rolled her eyes at Emily. "That doesn't make me feel better, Em. Knowing a large animal could wander into town and sneak into my house to eat me while I lay vulnerable in bed is _exactly_ what I need to hear right now."

"What the fuck kind of animal could sneak into your house?"

"A bear. Bears are smart Em." The blonde nodded to herself.

Emily scoffed, " _What_. How could it get inside without anyone noticing?"

"They can open car doors, I'm sure they can open, like, regular house doors--"

"You and your parents don't lock the doors at night?"

Jessica opened her mouth to respond and Emily quickly raised her hand to silence her, "where did you see a bear unlock a car door anyway?"

"I," Jessica started before she looked at out of her window, "on the internet," she finished quietly.

"Oh my god," the other girl hissed between her teeth.

Emily looked away and Jessica continued to stare out of her window as silence filled the car. One minute, then two minutes passed before Emily's finger tapping resumed and Jessica's leg started bouncing, her knuckles white from the grip she had on her skirt. "Um," she began but quickly bit her tongue to quiet herself.

"So is it just the sounds freaking you out? Because like I said, they're probably just animals okay?" And, _bless her heart_ , Jessica thought, _Emily tried to soften her voice when she said that_.

The blonde frowned, "yeah I guess."

Emily groaned and rested her head against the steering wheel. "Ughhhhhh I hate emotions and talking about them. _Disgusting_. Look," she raised her head and leaned over the console to flick at the blonde's arm to get her to look at her. Jessica huffed and refused. She chose to pout at her reflection instead. "Don't be such a baby you ditz." Jessica made an annoyed noise and huddled up to her door to avoid Emily's incessant pokes. Frustrated, Emily unbuckled to slap at the blonde, who snarled and tried to grab at Emily's hands.

"Hey. Hey. You fucking nerd," Emily grunted as she avoided Jessica's retaliation. "God damn I'm trying to be civil with you," she lightly punched a shoulder. Jessica slapped her cheek. "Jesssssss," she hissed. "Okay, sorry. Sorry." Emily sat back down holding her cheek.

"Oh my god I barely tapped you, don't look at me like that."

"I'm planning your murder for touching my face, bitch. Sleep with one eye open from now on." They glared at each other before Jessica's sneer slipped and she let out a laugh. Emily's eye twitched once before her own anger fell quickly from her face and she let out a small huff of laughter. Soon they fell into a fit of giggles and shoved at one another for a few moments. The smaller girl gasped to catch her breath, "God this is why you should never open up to me, like, ever. And…"

Jessica's hand is suddenly grasped in Emily's smaller one, her grip hard as the nails dug into the soft flesh. "….I just wanted to say that I understand. I can admit that those woods are scary," she waved her other hand dismissively, "but I'm not, like, terrified of them or anything." She dropped Jessica's hand to look at the blonde gently--well as gently as Emily could look at anyone. "If you want to get over this fear though, maybe walk around in the forest? I'll even go with you, if you want me to. Or whatever."

Jessica smiled at the embarrassed flush that appeared on her friend's cheeks, of course Emily would feel uncomfortable with any sort of support she gave. She had an alpha bitch persona to keep up."Is that even allowed?"

Emily shrugged, "It's not like they actually keep watch over the fences or anything. They were rusting and falling over way before we even left."

Jessica hummed, finally loosening the grip on her skirt and rolled her shoulders. "Well it's something to think about, facing your fear head on, huh?" Emily nodded. "Ha, maybe."

"Something to think about," Emily repeated, and started up the car before she buckled up. "Feel a bit better?" She didn't wait for an answer and Jessica was jerked backwards as the car lurched forward, "Good, because we needed to leave like fifteen minutes ago."

"Kay…and this talk helped a little bit. Thanks Em." Jessica giggled as Emily whispered 'whatever' under her breath.

It was pleasantly quiet for a bit before Emily spoke:

"Okay but seriously I'm going to kill you for hitting me."

______

As Emily promised earlier, they arrived in town about an hour later; it took another fifteen minutes to get to the blonde's place. Jessica's parents were waiting out in the driveway, and, to Jessica's horror, had a giant banner spread between them with "WELCOME BACK, BABY!" painted on it. Her father immediately pulled her out of the car as soon as it came to a stop and crushed her to his chest. He nearly sobbed in joy as her mother rolled her eyes and simply patted her shoulder as she walked passed them to greet Emily. Emily was gracious enough to hold a neutral expression as she ignored the bearlike blonde man that held her friend in a deathlike grip and helped move Jessica's things out of her car.

The man let out a loud wail as he _actually_ started to cry about how much he missed his little princess and _why didn’t she come home during her breaks???!??!?!!! WAS THAT INTERNSHIP REALLY MORE IMPORTANT THAN FAMILY??!?!?!!!_

"Instead of trying to kill our daughter maybe you could help Emily and I get Jess's stuff out of the car and into the house?" Jessica's mom asked as she pulled out a large suitcase. "And the internship was Em's idea, to help Jess get a few extra credits."

"It was terrible," Jessica wheezed, as she tried to wiggle out of her father's arms. "I missed you too, dad." Another wail erupted from him.

"Her face is turning purple, if you don't put her down now I will rip her from your meaty arms," the tall woman threatened, wielding the suitcase she just placed on the ground like a weapon. The man pouted and sniffed, then placed Jessica gently down before furiously rubbing his face with the back of his arm.

"Alright! Everything's out; sorry I can't stay and lug your stuff inside, I gotta go see my mom," Emily gave Jessica a quick hug, avoided Jessica's father's arms (he loudly gasped, hurt), and waved at the blonde's mom as she slid into her car. "Call me when you're free to hang. Text me if you ever need to talk and…" she paused as she turned the key in the ignition and put her glasses back on, "And do both whenever you wanna go on an adventure or something." She gave a quick nod before she shot off down the road towards her house.

"She didn't even give me a high five," a watery voice whispered.

"Dad please don’t start crying again."

______

It had been a week and a half since she came home, and Jessica had spent that time watching all the cute animal videos she could find into the late night/early morning and trying to sleep in as much as possible after. But, of course, her friends tried their best to foil her lazy summer plans by inviting her out to do stuff at every hour of every day. She couldn't refuse these invitations because she loved her friends-- _mostly_ , she thought. And she loved the distractions they offered her--like all of the pictures of the new litter of kittens Matt's cats had that he spammed her phone with and how he gushed over them like a proud grandparent; Ashley's updates on her summer novel-to-be; Emily and Mike's constant bickering (the two had dated in high school but now they were like inseparable siblings).

Emily never brought up what they talked about in the car during the short amount of time the both of them had been in town. And Jessica was very thankful. Both for that and the lack of animal noises. They hadn't happened since she's been here and it made Jessica's heart sing when she didn't wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. But there was still an anxiety coiled up hot and tight in her stomach--something heavy stuck in the back of her throat-- whenever she thought of the dark shapes that moved between the trees.

Being home, with these feelings weighing down on her once again, had her more frustrated than afraid. (Perhaps school toughened her up a bit? She did buy mace and take a few self defense classes after Emily punched the lights out of someone who tried to spike her drink. She was stronger. She even had some muscle on her arms now).

And even though Emily never brought up going into the forest to "face her fears," Jessica couldn't stop thinking about it. The second day she was home she stood outside of the woods and stared hard into the foliage for almost an hour. It was five in the morning and she had tossed and turned so much on her old bed--it was different, especially after spending most of the year on a cheap futon--and she just had to move. Needed to stretch out her limbs and distract herself.

It was…relaxing, as strange as that sounded. And as the wind blew through the trees, a fire was ignited in her heart for a moment, before something ahead stepped on a stick and Jessica shrieked before she turned and ran home.

After the second week home, Jessica decided to follow Emily's suggestion.

She sent out a text to everyone saying she would be busy for the day, sending an extra message to Emily to cover for her if her parents asked for her, and told her mother and father she would be spending the day out with friends. She thought about inviting Emily with her at first, but decided against it--she had to do this for herself.

Not telling anyone where she was going was definitely stupid, but she knew Emily would know where she would be. Emily was smart like that (and Jessica was sure that Emily would bulldoze her way through the woods just to pull her back by her ear and yell at her if the blonde didn’t text or call her when she got back home). It's not like she was going to stay in there for very long anyway, an hour or two tops.

She left around seven after a light breakfast, dressed in shorts and a light t-shirt, wanting to venture out while the sun was out. Jessica jogged along the backstreets to avoid the nosy townspeople, hoping she wouldn’t run into Matt or Mike on one of their "bronding" (as in bro-bonding) breakfasts. (No one in their group but Mike called it that, of fucking course). Somehow those two had gotten close the last year of high school without explanation; Jessica was a little disappointed Matt never shared with her how he and Mike suddenly became best friends. Weren't _they_ best friends too?

She made it to the edge of town without much notice and slowed her jog to a brisk walk. There was at least three hundred feet of flat land between the town and the tree line where tall grass and thistle bushes grew. Jessica watched the ground as she walked, not wanting to trip and fall on her face right before her attempt of overcoming her fear.

When she was a foot away from the edge of the forest, Jessica stopped. She looked up at the trees as she bit her bottom lip and kicked a stick into the woods. Her heart thundered against her rib cage and she suddenly wanted to call Emily to come by and pick her up. Or kick her ass into the forest while she yelled at the blonde about weakness. She tapped her fingers against her thighs for a few long moments. Wow, okay, this was a little harder than she expected but that's okay! She had all day.

Ten minutes passed and Jessica was still standing motionless. "Oh for fuck's sake," she muttered and stilled her hands. Taking a deep breath she took a tiny step forward and stopped. "Come on, you got this, Jess," she whispered with another step. Then another. And another.

Soon she was next to the first tree and was able to brush her fingers against the bark. _Okay, so far so good_ , she thought; her heart beat slowed to a normal pace and courage filtered back into her being. She took two steps next and was finally beyond the tree line. "Yeah, I got this," she chuckled to herself.

______

"Oh my god I do not have this, oh my fucking god ooohhhhhh my god ohmygodohmygodohmygod," Jessica chanted as she ran around the forest, completely and utterly lost. "I'm going to fucking die here!" she screamed into the sky.

The first ten minutes had been great. She had a great view of the…..many, many trees. The wind that blew through the leaves and branches made a nice nature-y noise, and it was actually pretty calming if she was going to be honest.

It turned to shit when she walked into a giant ass spider web.

Like any normal human, she panicked, screamed bloody murder, and ran. Of course, she dropped down a hill a few moments later and landed in a puddle of mud while she was distracted. _Man, I hope it's just mud_. God, her mom was going to kill her if this place didn’t. And Emily would laugh then kill her if her mom didn't.

Jessica laid in the mud for three minutes on her back. "This situation seems about right," she muttered to herself before she rolled over and got back up. "Nothing sprained or broken, that's a good sign!" Jessica chirped as she poked at her arms and legs, "right, stay positive Jess! Find that silver lining."

She surveyed the hill she just tumbled down. "Hmm, seems pretty steep but I'm sure I can climb it," she said as she nodded to herself and started the ascent. She slid back down on her hands knees and not even thirty seconds later."Right, okay. I'm gonna have to go around."

 Jessica walked in the direction where she came…she's like eighty percent sure that this was the right direction, she fell _down_ so she had to head _up-ish_ right?...shit did she hit her head? Fuck. Jessica rubbed her temples and swept a quick hand through her bangs. No blood came away and she felt no bumps. Good, nice. Not dying  at this exact moment, hopefully that won't change over the course of the day.

That positive attitude lasted about twenty minutes.

And that's how she came to this, running around in the middle of these god forsaken woods, super sweaty with mud all down her front and back. There were at least fifty bug bites on her entire body and--okay fifty one with that mosquito that just buzzed away from her--and she's pretty sure she's passed by that same exact tree at least three times in the past hour….hours?

She stopped running and sat down on a sizable boulder. If only she knew how to read the position of the sun. Even if she could the sun nearly blinded her whenever she looked up at it. "How do people do that anyway?" the blonde grumped.

There was a sound to her left and Jessica jumped. "Shit, okay, right. Gotta keep moving and get out of here before night falls." She squirmed atop the boulder for a moment or two while she looked to her left where the sound came from. "I've been in here too long if a little twig snapping has me jumping in the air," she chuckled uncomfortably.

As she got up, another sound--this one closer--came from somewhere in front of her. Jessica froze, eyes wide, "Ohhh fuckies," she whispered and bolted.

Five minutes passed and Jessica already felt exhausted. "Emily was right," she panted, "I need to exercise more, Jesus Christ--" and she then fell flat on her face.

"Oh my god," she gagged, trying to spit out the dead leaves that had filled her mouth upon impact. "God damn--" another snap ahead of her interrupted the swear. Jessica struggled to get up ( _shit_ _shit shit the wind was knocked out of her and her knees really hurt ugh!!!!! holy canoli she's gonna get murdered_ ) as the crunching of leaves got closer and closer to her. "Ohhhh nononononononononoooo--"

"Hey are you okay down there?" a woman's voice asked.

Jessica stilled. Was she hallucinating??? Was there actually another living person inside this hellscape--?

"Um," the owner of the voice cleared her throat, "do you need any help?" She shuffled her feet a little bit and waited for the blonde on the ground to answer.

Jessica tried to subtly remove the rest of the leaves from her mouth before she addressed the other person. (Sadly it wasn't as subtle as she had hoped it would be: she spat out like sixteen leaves in front of the stranger. A better first impression than, perhaps, being found sobbing and curled up in the fetal position. Maybe). She finally looked up and was met with concerned green eyes and a crooked smile. The other woman's blonde hair was tied in a messy pony tail, small scars across her tanned face and a patch of dirt on her cheek.

Before either one could speak, another twig snapped behind Jessica and she squealed and launched herself at the other woman's legs, wrapping her arms tight around her legs. The stranger let out a quiet 'oof' but remained rooted to the spot. A few long seconds passed with Jessica's face pressed against her savior's (holy shit super toned!!!!) thigh--not the first time, but it wasn't as much fun as the other times--and a hesitant hand came to rest on her head.

 "Oh," the soft voice said before a low chuckle erupted above Jessica. The other woman's hand gently patted Jessica's head as she spoke, "looks like this little guy likes you."

What, _what, whatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhat was she saying???? LITTLE guy_???

Jessica glanced up at the other blonde who smiled down at her and gestured behind her. She turned as much as she could while clinging to her metaphorical rock and her head nearly exploded from the rush of blood that surged to her face. "Oh. My. God," she whimpered.

A squirrel.

It was  tiny fucking squirrel that had spooked her and sent her running around like a headless chicken. She glared at it as it squeaked innocently and crawled tentatively forward. She glared harder and clutched the other woman closer to her.

"Hey little fella," the stranger said and wiggled her index finger at it. It squeaked in response and scuttled even closer. "Aww, aren't you a cutie?" the other blonde cooed. Somehow the squirrel understood and skirted around Jessica to climb up the woman's pants (Jessica shivered as she felt its little paws brush against her arms as it scaled the blonde stranger) and perched itself on her shoulder. And, _wow_. This was some Disney Princess bullshit happening in front of her.

It squeaked happily (?) as it was scratched under its chin.

Jessica stared in wonder. "I," she said and screamed when the rodent jumped at her voice and vaulted itself to the ground; it disappeared up a tree in a rush. "Sorry?"

The other blonde looked away from the tree the squirrel had scurried up and smiled brightly down at Jessica."He was very cute, huh?" she asked. A concerned expression replaced the happy smile as she asked, "you didn't answer me earlier: are you okay? Also," she squirmed in Jessica's grip a little, "it's kind of hard talking to you when your face is in my crotch." The tall blonde let out a laugh but Jessica blushed and prayed for the ground to swallow her up.

"Yeah I'm fine," she said quietly and let go, "sorry." The woman crouched down and reached a hand out to help her up; she grabbed it while she stared at the ground that unfortunately did not swallow her whole and tried to avoid eye contact. Dang, this woman was taller than her. "I was, shit, startled by….a tree rat….."

Another low chuckle came from her 'savior,' and Jessica was struck by how pretty it sounded--and fuck no, she always got one day crushes at school over people who she thought were attractive and they caused her more emotional turmoil then she ever wanted in her planned carefree summer--"It happens to the best of us. Do you mind telling me what you're doing out here?"

Oh, well. Now that Jessica was chased by a squirrel after she fell into a mud puddle because she wanted to overcome her fear of the forest, she found it hard to answer. "I thought it was a nice day to take a walk."

"A walk in _these_ woods?"

"Um," well. If you knew about the woods, then yes. This seemed a bit strange. "I didn't see anything telling me _not_ to go into the woods."

That was a lie.

There were signs. On the ground. That she stepped on.

And there was the decrepit fence that was easy to step over.

"Hmm," the stranger hummed. Her lips twitched trying to keep a laugh in.

"Haha, yeah. Yeah…and now I'm lost!" her voice cracked on the last word. She looked down at their joined hands and blushed a dark red. Again. Like a five year old with a playground crush.

"I'm Sam, by the way," the stranger finally introduced herself and looked her over and-- _shit_. Jessica was giant mess right now. "It seems your walk has taken its toll on you…."

Jessica groaned, face aflame and tugged at the edge of her shirt, "Jessica."

"Jessica," Sam smiled and tugged at her hand. "Let me get you out of here okay? Oh," the taller blonde dropped her hand, "sorry about that." She motioned in the opposite direction Jessica had fled to escape the squirrel, _of_ _fucking course_ , and  started off. After a few feet she turned around with a raised brow and asked, "You coming?"

Jessica jumped and ran after the taller woman.

______

The walk was quiet and consisted of Jessica trying not to make herself an even bigger fool than she already had in front of Sam--but that was hard. Sam's long legs made it difficult for the shorter blonde to keep up, she had to practically jog to even be side by side with Sam.

"So," Jessica huffed, _god she's so out of shape_ , "what are you, hff, doing out here, Sam?"

"Oh you know," Sam stopped and let Jessica catch up, a cheeky grin on her face, "out for a walk."

"Ha. Hahahahahaha," Jessica pathetically responded with. "Can we, like, can we take a break or something?" she stopped and rested her hands on the tops of her knees.

Sam glanced at her before she looked at the sky with a hand shading her eyes. "We could," she paused to look Jessica in the eye, "but it would be better to get you out of here as quickly as possible." She crouched down a bit and nudged the smaller blonde's shoulder, "want me to carry you?"

"What?"

"Yeah," and, god damn, did Sam have a smile on her face 24/7? _Did she never have an ugly expression on her angelic face?_ "Yeah. Want a piggy back ride?" God that smile was blinding (the smaller blonde was definitely going to need her eyes checked if she ever made it back to civilization). Jessica couldn't say no to the smile, it would be like ignoring a tiny, whimpering puppy.

"Um sure, okay?"

Sam hummed and turned so Jessica could clamber on to her back. When Jessica wrapped her arms around her neck, Sam easily stood up, and the smaller blonde squeaked as her grip tightened and legs clung to the other's hips. "And off we go!" Sam practically sung and took off at a jog.

"So, Sam, you come out here often?"

_Fuck. That was lame, shit. God damn--_

"If I'm going to be honest, no one should be out in these woods," Sam shrugged, "but it seems like no one around here follows the rules."  Jessica found herself giggling softly into Sam's shoulder as Sam jogged on, a smile (of course) heard in the taller blonde's voice.

Soon, Jessica was talking about school, her friends, and family with Sam like they were old friends. The taller blonde mostly chuckled at the stories and asked questions, or threw in comments at the stunts Jessica and Emily had pulled at school drunk. (Well, mostly drunk).

Just as Jessica was about to ask more about Sam they broke through the forest's tree line and came to a halt. "Oh, it's much later than I thought," Jessica commented as she slid off the other woman's back and looked up to examine the sky. The sun was barely visible as it set behind the giant mountain that loomed over the forest and town. The air was cool and chilled her skin. She noticed how quiet Sam had gotten the closer they got to the edge of the woods and she hoped she hadn’t offended the other blonde. She _had_ taken over the conversation and hadn't engaged Sam as much as she should have….

"So, uh, where in town are you staying……at…." Jessica stopped as she looked at Sam. The tall woman stared into the woods, posture stiff and fists clenched at her sides. 

Sam turned and smiled tightly at Jessica, " 'm not really from around here." She cracked her neck as she looked back into the trees, her eyes searching for something. The sky darkened more as the sun sunk lower behind the mountain.

"Huh." Okay. Jessica turned on her heel awkwardly and rubbed the back of her neck, "Well. Then where do you live--"

But when she turned around Sam was gone.

 


	2. bumps in the night part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised I made this chapter shorter and more characters appear!!! The plot is slowly forming and I thank all of you for your patience with me. I hope this is a fun read, enjoy!

Jessica was confused.

Like, really, really confused.

She had turned her back on Sam for all of twenty seconds and when she looked back the other woman had disappeared. Poof! Not a trace of her presence anywhere.

Jessica would be lying if she said her mind hadn't screamed _GHOST!! CALL THE FUCKING GHOST BUSTERS!_  for a split second, but the warmth of Sam's back and remembering her bright smile shut out those thoughts quickly enough.

Jessica cringed at the wording of her memories and thoughts. "Okay, enough daydreaming about a random forest person Jess," she muttered and slapped both her hands to her cheeks. The sting shook her out of her confused daze.

There were only two routes to travel, towards the town or into the forest. And Sam had obviously not run by Jessica in the middle of a giant field toward a town she just said she didn't live in. So that left the forest. Sam had willingly walked into the deathtrap just as the sun was setting for some godforsaken reason Jessica _knew_ that she would hate to find out and, well, now the blonde was _very worried_ \--

_Okay_ , she interrupted herself. She shook her head to rid herself of grotesque images such as wolves feeding on Sam's innards or her falling off a cliff in the middle of the fucking night like some dipshit.

First things first: how the hell did the taller blonde run off without making any noise? That was creepy as all hell if Jessica was being completely honest.

"Did she…did she _jump_ into the woods?" Jessica asked herself in disbelief. Sam had long legs, _really_ long legs, it wouldn't be implausible for her to leap into the forest with how close she was to it while the other blonde had her back turned to her…

"Okay Jess, just stop and think like a rational person for once in your life." And any rational person would sprint all the way home, jump into a hot, steamy shower, and curl up in bed. _Then_ they would ask how a human Sam's size could disappear without being an astral projection. (And Sam was definitely a breathing person because Jessica knew that the other blonde was solid, she had…felt how sturdy Sam was when she was clinging to her for dear life when that squirrel ambushed her…).

All train of thought left Jessica when she heard furious honking headed her way. She looked up and froze when she saw a car that suspiciously looked like Emily's speeding towards her. Even with the little light offered by the setting sun, there was no way in hell Jessica could have mistaken that four door demon vehicle for any other car.

"Shit, Em's gonna kill me," she whimpered. Jessica had forgotten to send update texts, which would have happened if her phone's signal wasn't shit in the forest and--oh no. She pat one pocket and felt nothing; then she shakily pat the other one. Again nothing.

As panic thrummed through her, Jessica rummaged through her pockets desperately  looking for her phone as Emily drove toward her, intent on taking her head (because Em didn't half ass anything like the rest of the group).  "Shit, shit, _shit_." She couldn't find it anywhere on her!! "Fuck, mom and dad are going to kill me too!" If there was anything left of her sorry remains once Emily was through with her.

A gust of wind blew past her, chilling the sweat that had formed on her brow as the headlights flashed at her in warning. There was still time, maybe Jessica could join Sam in the woods and never be seen again.

That idea cost her precious time as the car screeched to a halt in front of her, throwing up dirt and weeds onto her clothes. "Okay, I deserved that," Jessica muttered when Emily slammed her door shut.

"What. The. FUCK?!" the shorter girl punctuated each word with a threatening step towards Jessica. The headlights shone on Emily's face and reflected her immeasurable fury. The blonde shrunk in on herself as her best friend stomped up to her, a sneer so powerful (marring the shorter girl's features) Jessica was surprised Emily's face didn't implode on itself.

Another car door closed before Emily was in Jessica's face.

"Hey Jess," Matt said as he waved at her awkwardly from the passenger's side. And, _oh thank god_ , Matt was here! Emily wouldn't kill her in front of a witness--unless she planned on murdering Matt as well.

Emily turned on heel to face him, "Matthew do _not_ coddle her!" she spat before she turned back on Jessica. " _You_ ," she hissed as Matt questioned 'it was just a hello how was that _coddling her_?' behind the two of them. "You are in so much trouble! I was worried sick when you didn't respond to any of my texts what the _hell_ was that about you bitch!"

Emily stopped and looked Jessica up and down. "You look like shit," she stated after a few moments of silence.

"I feel like shit."

Emily continued to glare at the blonde before she roughly shoved at Jessica's shoulder (and Jessica nearly fell to the ground). "I fucking hate you," she sneered between clenched teeth. She turned and stalked back to her car, shoulders hunched and Jessica knew that once they were alone Emily would give her the full brunt of her anger.

The blonde rubbed her arm before she followed. Matt smiled at her as he opened the backseat door for her and she smiled back, grateful.

"Oh, hey Jess, we were hoping you weren't dead," Ashley said cheerily from the back. The brunette scooted closer to Mike to make room for the blonde.

"Yeah, well, it looks like you won't last the night so I don't know why we even bothered to come pick you up," Mike gestured to Emily with his hands.

"Michael, would you like to get out and walk home?" Emily's hard voice made the three in the back jump.

The young man in question forced out a laugh, "No thank you, ma'am. I'd like a ride back to civilization, please." Emily nodded her head and started the car. It lurched forward on the terrain before gaining traction and moving forward.

Mike stuck his tongue out and gave Emily the finger. Ashley slapped him with a hushed _'Mike_!''

"Where's Chris?" Jessica asked after she noticed the third giant (Mike and Matt were over six feet tall okay?) was not present.

Matt twisted in his seat, "couldn't fit. Maximum capacity is five people and Mike shoved him to the ground before jumping into the car."

"Only the strong shall survive," Mike piped up only to be slapped by Ashley again. "Ow, what did I ever do to you Ash?!"

"Ash, hit him again," Emily demanded. "It amuses me," she finished as she glared at him in the rearview mirror.

A beat of silence.

Then the sound of a hard smack.

" _Ow_! _Ash_! You didn't have to listen to her!"

"I'm sorry I panicked okay?!"

"Guys please, I'm already getting a headache and it's only been five minutes--"

"But Matt, Ash is abusing me--!"

"Emily told me to--!"

"I should kick _all of you_ out of my car--"

" _Em please_!!" Matt and Ashley squeaked simultaneously.

And while her friends bickered amongst themselves Jessica started to laugh quietly. Before long it was a loud belly-aching laugh and everyone shut up to look at her.

"Oh no," Mike whispered, "the woods have infected our Jess. It's too late, we have to sacrifice her to the gods of the mountain so we may not be cursed."

Right on cue, Ashley smacked him again without even glancing at him. " _Fuck nuggets_! What is your problem Ash?!"

"Again, Ash," Emily droned.

At the same time, Matt exhaled "these fucking kids will be the end of me."

The rest of the car ride to Emily's place was filled with Jessica and Ashley's hysterical giggling, Emily and Mike's snarking, and Matt rolling his eyes constantly because he was the only one acting like a reasonable adult.

"Oh my fuck," Jessica gasped when they were a few minutes away from Emily's house, "I love you guys so much."

\------

When Emily parked in her driveway, she nearly tore Jessica's arm out of its socket when she pulled the blonde out of her seat. "You and I are going to have a long talk, and you guys," she motioned to the other three occupants in her car, "need to get out of here before the police mysteriously find your remains in about two weeks."

As she stepped out, Ashley pushed Mike in front of her. "Please take him right now, I don't want to drive with him in the middle of the night."

Mike gasped loudly and placed a hand on his heart, "I thought what we had was special, Ash."

"Uh-huh, about as special as the sex you've had with half of your college's population." She deadpanned back at him.

He pulled her into a headlock easily and ruffled her hair. "What's that? I can't hear you demeaning my sexual life with your face in my armpit." The brunette's scream was muffled by his bulk and he casually lifted her onto his shoulder and twirled around to Matt. "You ready to go hot shot?" Mike asked as Ashley beat against his back with her tiny fists.

"How the hell did _you_ become Class President?!!" the tiny brunette shrieked as she tried to writhe out of his grip.

"I mean, who _wouldn't_ want this to be Class President?" When everyone present raised their hands he huffed. "Well fuck all of you too, and not the fun fuck either."

"Before I take my kids home," Matt sighed at Mike and Ashley, "can I at least ask if you're okay, Jess?"

The blonde smiled at him. Matt was always there as a guardian to the rest of them, he was the group's mom and dad wrapped up into one friend-shaped person. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Matt." He smiled at her and nodded before ushering the squabbling duo down to Ashley's parked car.

"Shotgun!" the former Class President shouted as he jogged and nearly leapt onto the hood.

"Ohhhh nonononono! This is my car, my rules," Ashley smacked him on the back of his head. "Matt gets to be in the passenger seat."

Mike let out a despairing 'NO!' as he set the brunette down. "There's nothing left to live for if I can't ride shotgun," he said dejectedly. Everyone let out an 'ugh' at his display.

When Matt was finally able to push the two into Ashley's car they took off down the road.

"Wait, what about Chris?" Jessica suddenly asked.

"Shit, I knew we were forgetting something," Emily face palmed. "Oh well, I'm sure Ash can find him when we need him." She shrugged.

Emily's grip tightened a fraction as she started to haul Jessica up the driveway. "Now you and I are gonna talk about what happened today all right?" Jessica shuddered--Emily's voice only turned sugary when she was about to lay down a verbal beating.

The blonde swallowed thickly but nodded her head vigorously as a 'yes'.

"Splendid!" the shorter woman cooed. "My mom is out of town for work so I called your parents and told them you were sleeping over so they know where you are."

Jessica began to sweat bullets. "Ilostmyphone," she murmured.

" _What_?"

Going by the edge in her voice, Jessica could rightfully conclude that Emily had indeed heard her. Also, the circulation in her right arm was currently cut off by her best friend's iron-clad grip.

"You could have _died_ out there and you lose the only thing that could have saved you? You, you _idiot_!"

Jessica shrank away from her friend, and she told herself that Emily didn't mean to call her stupid even though what she did today was very, very idiotic. "I didn't lose it on purpose okay?"

"You might as well have!" The shorter woman yelled. When they got to the porch, Emily let go of her arm and the blonde cradled it close to her chest while Emily fiddled with the lock and key. As they stepped inside Emily slapped a hand to her forehead and exhaled loudly. "You're not stupid. I'm sorry I called you an idiot."

Jessica rubbed her arm with a pout. "I'm sorry for worrying you today and losing my phone."

"Ha, yeah, well, you'll have to face your parents alone on that one Jess." Emily closed and locked the door, turning on the porch light and walking ahead of the blonde (who whispered 'fuck my ass' at the mention of her parents) towards the kitchen, "are you hungry?"

" A little, yeah."

"Well get in here, I'm not your fucking maid, blondie."

\------

They first decided that Jessica needed a shower ("If my mom comes home to find mud on her white carpet it will be a bloodbath"), and because of their constant sleepovers over the years of their friendship, Jessica had some clothes stashed in Emily's room. It was embarrassing to admit but everyone in their friend group had clothes and toothbrushes at each other's houses. Their parents had commented that what the six of them had was a soul-bond, and, wow, maybe that's why everyone in town looked at them oddly.

Once clean and dressed, Jessica headed down stairs to start dinner with Emily, who was flipping through a magazine as she sat at the kitchen counter. "Mac n' cheese?" the shorter woman asked without turning around.

"I'm always a slut for mac n' cheese," the blonde cheered as she looked through the drawers for a pot to cook the noodles in.

"Say that again and you're dead to me."

"I'm always a slut--"

Emily smacked Jessica with the magazine she just rolled up. " _Dead_ ," she whispered coldly in warning.

The blonde gave a sheepish smile before filling up the pot with water.

"So what the hell even happened to you?" Emily asked while she rummaged through the fridge for cheese, milk, and butter.

Jessica set the pot on the stove and contemplated what to tell her friend. _Definitely not about the squirrel, that smug bastard_. "Well I got lost, fell down a hill into a mud puddle, got even more lost, and found," she paused when she remembered Sam.

"Hey Em? Do you know of anyone that lives in the woods?"

"That old man, remember him? Why do you ask?"

Jessica bit her lip in thought.

"Well, someone helped me out," she began, "not the old man though."

Emily turned to the blonde with a raised brow. "O-kay?"

The water started to bubble and Jessica poured the noodles in while shifting from foot to foot awkwardly. "After dinner I'll tell you okay? Promise."

The shorter woman looked annoyed but nodded.

Because Jessica, miraculously, kept all her promises.

And she was going to tell Emily everything, even the about Sam's bizarre disappearance.

(Except the squirrel chase. Jessica will take that secret to her fucking grave).


	3. intermission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep your friends close and cherish them, or push them down at a bowling alley, your choice.

"So what you're saying is that Jess met her soulmate in the woods yesterday?"

"What? _No_ , Matt that is _not_ what Emily said at all--"

"Basically, yeah. She spent like fifteen minutes just describing this Sam person last night. It was cute, but nauseating, if not a little creepy."

"Emily what the hell--?"

"Em, don't call Jess creepy."

"She was talking about how Sam's hair smelled like sunshine if it had a scent--"

"Okay, no! _Nononononono_ , that is _not_ what I meant by that and you know it--"

"Aw, Jess, that's sweet."

Emily rolled her eyes at Matt's cooing while Jessica placed her face in her hands and groaned. As promised, she told Emily everything that had occurred in the forest after dinner (though she had tried to postpone the talk by asking for a tub of ice cream and a Netflix-a-thon). Emily's mom had come home to them on the couch with hundreds of candy wrappers scattered around and her daughter holding Jessica in a head lock as she scolded her about her antics that day.

By the time the older woman shooed them up to Emily's room, the two of them had calmed down enough to just quietly glower at each other and head to bed. The next day, Emily had shoved Jessica out of her bed like the jerky jerk she is, threw clothes at her, and forced her into her car. They drove to a small diner for breakfast where Matt was waiting at a booth with a plate of bacon in front of him, and then Emily had blurted out everything Jessica had shared with her.

Which lead them to this terrible, embarrassing conversation.

Matt smiled kindly at Jessica as he reached over the table and placed his large hand over hers, "I forgot how cute you get when you have a crush," he said earnestly.

The blonde groaned again and flared red at his words. "It's not a crush you guys, I just thought she was pretty okay?" She squirmed under Emily's narrowed eyes and Matt's sympathetic hand patting.

"Yeah, that's what you said about the fifty people you cried over while drunk at school," Emily snorted.

Jessica was pretty sure her head was about to explode with all the blood rushing to it. "It was not fifty people and I did not cry over any of them, I just….just get emotional when I drink." She glared at the shorter girl, "and I think you're just bitter that my sleeping habits got in the way of your studying."

Before Emily could respond the diner's doors slammed open to reveal Mike, Ashley, and a very angry Chris. Jessica smacked her head on the table because _of course_ the rest of her friends would be here to listen to Emily's slandering against her. Mike's head snapped at the sound and he spotted the table they were sat at so he hauled Ashley up into his arms and jogged over to them.

"Ladies," he greeted and set Ashley down (not before she smacked his chest hard while mumbling about how inconsiderate tall people were). He pouted at Matt, "I can't believe you're cheating on me with Em and Jess, Matthew. I thought that brofast was _our_ thing."

Everyone groaned at the word 'brofast'. "What? What did I do this time?"

"Stop trying to make up words, Michael, especially if it's to protect your non-existent heterosexuality," Emily supplied as Mike fell into the booth next to Matt. "What the hell is his problem?" she asked as Ashley sat down next to her and waved down a waitress.

"Who?" Mike, Matt, and Jessica asked at once.

" _Me_ ," Chris seethed next the group. He was glaring down at them with a scowl on his face and his arms crossed tightly across his chest.

"Oh, him," Mike said and turned towards the waitress who was standing off to side awkwardly. "I'll have the usual, Angela."

"You guys _left me_ \--"

"Oh, oh! May I have the Belgian waffle with extra whipped cream and raspberries, annnnnnd apple juice please?" Ashley asked the waitress who scribbled the order down.

"Ash, I'm trying to tell our mutual friends off--"

"Come to think of it, we only ate bacon when we got here, maybe we should get more?"

"Matt not you too--"

"Great idea, Matthew, let's see…I'll have a coffee and the Veggie Skillet please," Emily said as she stared Chris down, daring him to raise his voice at her. He visibly shrunk back and slipped into the booth next to Mike, avoiding eye contact with her any longer.

Everyone else ordered and as Angela walked away Matt leaned against the table so he could look at Chris with his usual fatherly concern. "Chris we picked you up and took you home. Not only did we apologize a million times, I bought you ice cream."

"Mike pushed me down in the bowling alley's parking lot," the blonde man pouted.

"Mike's a big, dumb puppy Chris--though not a cute one at all--he's too stupid to know what he's doing," Ashley said and Jessica nodded along while Emily let out a vicious laugh.

Mike gasped and clutched Matt's arm. "Matt, Ash is being mean again, you have to ground her. Right now. Immediately." The brunette threw a crumpled up napkin at him while Matt pushed him away with an eye roll.

"As much as you two like to believe that I'm your dad, I'm not, so--"

"Matt I'm gonna stop you right there," Jessica interrupted with a raised hand, "because you, and everyone at this table, know that is a big fat lie." She gestured between Ashley and Mike, "They're your kiddos and you love them. Don't think we don't know about the sweaters you knit them for each of their birthdays. When was it that you started this? Oh yeah, after freshman year of high school."

And finally, Jessica thought smugly, someone else was blushing at this table.

"Those were supposed to be a secret you guys," he whispered.

Mike nudged him with a wink, "they're so fluffy though. We wanted to share them with the others."

Jessica 'awwwed' and Emily flicked something at Chris's head (he yelped and fell out of the booth just as Angela came around with all of their drinks).

Matt blushed a darker red. "Did you guys know Jess fell in love yesterday?" he blurted out.

Three pairs of eyes snapped to the blonde in question and Jessica could just feel the smirk radiating off of Emily as Matt mouthed a 'sorry' to her. "Okay so you guys know how this dipshit got the smart idea to walk into the forest by herself yesterday right," Emily began while Ashley and Mike leaned in close, eyes sparkling with curiosity.

The blonde had been frantically kicking at Matt but as those words left her best friend's mouth she sank into her seat, bright red and defeated.

"I'm still upset with you jerks," Chris mumbled. He tried to ignore the story Emily was spinning but Jessica's squeaks and everyone's giggling drew him in, and soon he was snorting at the other blonde's expense.

By the end of it, Jessica was too embarrassed to eat her chocolate chip pancakes (with extra chocolate chips and chocolate syrup…she had a bit of a sweet tooth okay). She threw one at Mike's face when he asked if Sam's abs could cut diamonds like his could.

(And she thought they probably could, not that Jessica was imagining what Sam's abs felt like or thinking about her smile and her lovely voice since her mysterious departure yesterday. Nope, nope. Not _at all_.)

______

After they finished eating, Emily pulled Jessica and Ashley aside. The tiny brunette sent a distressed look towards the boys but Mike shrugged whilst hiding behind Matt from Emily's eyes and Chris smiled evilly. "Revenge," he said and pushed the other two towards Matt's car.

A strangled whimper came from Ashley as Emily dragged her and Jessica to Emily's car. She looked to Jessica who looked more distressed than she felt. "Emily, you're cutting off the circulation in my arm," the brunette whined, halfheartedly trying to pull her arm free from the other girl's strong grip. Jessica just whimpered pitifully as Emily pushed the two of them up against her vehicle.

"So we all agree that Jessica going into the woods alone was stupid right?"

Ashley and Jessica mumbled out a confused 'yes.'

Emily nodded. "Okay, so you know what that means right?"

"No?"

"It _obviously_ means we have to go back in together."

They both stared at her.

"Haha, what?" Ashley's intelligent reply cut through the silence.

A few moments passed as Emily stared hard into Ashley's eyes and the brunette's smile slowly fell from her face. The latter swallowed hard and moved her gaze down to the ground.

" _Why_?" Jessica asked.

Emily finally let go of them. "Remember what we were talking about as we drove back?" the blonde nodded while Ashley glanced between them curiously. "To be honest I've been thinking about it for the past two weeks: what exactly is out there making all that noise?  It's been bothering me for the longest time--since the fire really--and I know everyone will rest easier if we just march in there and find out what is making that wretched noise."

Jessica bit her lip as Emily looked determinedly between her and Ashley. Being out there, and meeting Sam really, had awoken something in her….perhaps a courage of sorts? She knew that her little adventure did not alleviate her fears of the things that lurked in the shadows and they cries they made. Though she was not sure knowing what made those noises would help at all.

"Or," Ashley spoke up, "we could just not get lost in the woods and most likely die and pretend we don’t hear the blood curdling screams of dying things." She kicked at the ground as she kept her gaze down, "We've been doing it since we were twelve, we can do it until we move out of this place."

Emily flicked her forehead. "Ash, hush, I expected more from our resident Ghost Hunter."

The brunette flushed, "I'm never living that down am I?"

Emily pinched her cheek. "Never," she said sweetly. "This could benefit the town as much as it helps us sleep at night."

"I still don't think it's safe," Ashley murmured. She looked to Jessica for support, desperate to get out the situation.

"If we're together I'm sure it'll be fine. Plus," Emily squeezed Jessica's shoulder and the blonde raised a brow at the gesture. "We have someone on the inside that could help."

A beat of silence.

Then two.

"What?"

"Huh?"

A frustrated sigh escaped Emily as she placed her hands gently on Ashley's cheeks before pushing them together. The brunette gargled and her own hands flew up to push at Emily's to no avail. She smacked the blonde next to her to help but the other girl was lost in thought.

And finally something clicked in Jessica's mind as Emily pulled at Ashley's tender cheeks, stretching her face comically as she whined. Oh.

_Oh_.

_Sam_.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> The intro chapter is a bit long (there was quite a bit I wanted to set up I guess) but I'll avoid this length for future chaps! The others will def appear in upcoming chaps B)))))


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